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  • Increased Military Spending

    From Lawrence D'Oliveiro@21:1/5 to All on Mon Apr 7 07:43:22 2025
    For once, I agree this is something the Government has to do.

    We don’t want to be warmongers. But remember what FDR said: “Speak softly, and carry a big stick”.

    Above all, don’t be like a certain man-child world leader who goes around shouting “I’ve got a big stick! I’ve got a big stick! See how big my stick
    is! My stick is the biggest ever!”.

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From Rich80105@21:1/5 to ldo@nz.invalid on Mon Apr 7 21:33:32 2025
    On Mon, 7 Apr 2025 07:43:22 -0000 (UTC), Lawrence D'Oliveiro
    <ldo@nz.invalid> wrote:

    For once, I agree this is something the Government has to do.

    We dont want to be warmongers. But remember what FDR said: Speak softly, >and carry a big stick.

    Above all, dont be like a certain man-child world leader who goes around >shouting Ive got a big stick! Ive got a big stick! See how big my stick >is! My stick is the biggest ever!.

    The loss of a ship was tragic, and needs to be replaced with a ship
    that is technically military defence, but also recognises a major
    purpose of such a force as being available for disaster relief, both
    in New Zealand and in the South Pacific.

    We are not big enough to have an effective "big stick" - that is why
    alliances with other nations are important for more than trade.

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From Lawrence D'Oliveiro@21:1/5 to All on Tue Apr 8 00:47:15 2025
    On Mon, 07 Apr 2025 21:33:32 +1200, Rich80105 wrote:

    We are not big enough to have an effective "big stick" ...

    But we do have a long tradition of supporting multilateral initiatives
    (e.g. in the UN) to maintain international law and order. Hopefully this
    will add to our ability to pull our weight.

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From Rich80105@21:1/5 to ldo@nz.invalid on Tue Apr 8 13:42:38 2025
    On Tue, 8 Apr 2025 00:47:15 -0000 (UTC), Lawrence D'Oliveiro
    <ldo@nz.invalid> wrote:

    On Mon, 07 Apr 2025 21:33:32 +1200, Rich80105 wrote:

    We are not big enough to have an effective "big stick" ...

    But we do have a long tradition of supporting multilateral initiatives
    (e.g. in the UN) to maintain international law and order. Hopefully this
    will add to our ability to pull our weight.

    I doubt there will be any meaningful US decisions that would not be
    vetoed by either the USA or Russia (or both). Hopefully however there
    will be agreements between individual countries than ensure that
    disruption is minimised for trade between countries other than the USA

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From Willy Nilly@21:1/5 to Lawrence D'Oliveiro on Tue Apr 8 01:18:13 2025
    On Mon, 7 Apr 2025, Lawrence D'Oliveiro <ldo@nz.invalid> wrote:
    For once, I agree this is something the Government has to do.
    We don’t want to be warmongers. But remember what FDR said: “Speak softly, >and carry a big stick”.

    Teddy Roosevelt said that. Know the difference.

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From Lawrence D'Oliveiro@21:1/5 to All on Tue Apr 8 02:23:38 2025
    On Tue, 08 Apr 2025 13:42:38 +1200, Rich80105 wrote:

    I doubt there will be any meaningful [UN] decisions that would not be
    vetoed by either the USA or Russia (or both).

    Perhaps informal arrangements could be made, that reflect the broad
    consensus of the Security Council (excepting the sole vetoing member),
    without operating through official UN channels. Perhaps a General Assembly
    vote could be seen as sufficient justification for some action.

    The veto power really needs to be restricted somewhat. I think raising the threshold to two permanent members voting no, instead of just one, to
    block a measure, would help a lot.

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)